The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread problems in the healthcare industry. Experts have predicted another hectic year for doctors, dentists, and other medical professionals with little sign of relief in sight.
Hospital surges this winter have placed a strain on more than emergency room personnel and resources. Administrators at many hospitals have sourced employees and supplies from other departments as well. They’ve also triaged many patients and followed recommendations to halt a wide range of medical procedures until this latest surge from the COVID Delta and Omicron variants during flu season likely peaks this summer.
Additionally, many patients have stopped seeking medical care until it’s an emergency, putting further strain on the system. From the best dentist in Vernon Hills to the average doctor in Venice Beach, medical professionals far and wide continue to encounter unique challenges during these unprecedented times.
What can you expect to experience throughout the year when attempting to access healthcare?
Continued ER Problems
Since experts don’t anticipate a significant drop in cases with a sustained lower level of new daily cases until mid-year, patients can expect a continuation of common pandemic emergency room issues. For example, many hospitals currently have wait times that last six hours or longer because of full beds and staff shortages. Some patients might be turned away and sent to another hospital or even an urgent care center for evaluation and treatment.
The standard of care has also dropped significantly, which means that human errors have also increased with surges. Patients and their caretakers need to advocate more than ever before and speak up immediately if they experience any problems.
Long Communication Hold Times
Given the increase in changes to available medical services and patients canceling and rescheduling appointments, everyone can expect longer hold times while communicating with the staff at doctors’ offices. They can also expect more communication errors as well.
For example, a front office clerk, physician’s assistant, or scheduler might ask if they can call a patient back and then forget that they made that promise. They might become so overwhelmed that they don’t return phone calls during normal office hours and call late in the evening or the next day. A patient might wait on hold on the phone for an hour or longer. If they send a message to the office via email or patient portal, they might not receive a response for two or more days. To reduce stress and irritation or anger, patients must keep possible causes of long hold times in mind when interacting with medical personnel.
Longer Appointment Wait Times
A lot of people never experienced scheduling delays of a half year or longer before the pandemic. Long appointment wait times pre-pandemic generally occurred in areas where only a few doctors provide services to everyone in a community, such as remote rural locations. They also commonly occurred when patients needed medical evaluation and treatment from specialists in those areas or at in-state or out-of-state academic research hospitals.
Those scenarios still exist, but a patient might also experience these types of delays now and especially when this most recent surge peaks because of scheduling congestion caused by so many people suddenly seeking care at the same time. Suppose a patient must wait several months for an appointment and experiences a sudden decline in health or new symptoms while waiting. In that case, experts recommend that they pursue medical care elsewhere, such as at a different doctor’s office or an urgent care center.
Other Anticipated Healthcare Issues
As the number of COVID cases decreases and the number of patients demanding non-COVID care increases, experts also anticipate that a lot of healthcare workers are going to experience even greater mental and physical stress that leaves them feeling exhausted, unmotivated, and even angry. A patient might experience an office worker or family physician speaking or behaving in less-than-friendly ways. After an interaction, the patient might wonder if they imagined any negativity or start to feel low and negative as well.
Patients must anticipate these issues and address them as quickly as possible. For example, instead of responding immediately to a healthcare worker in an angry fashion, they might wait a day and then speak with an office manager or facility complaint department. If they feel that their future healthcare might suffer, they need to consider looking for another doctor who better handles stress.
It’s said that people often take their health for granted. As you can see, it’s also possible to take the availability of quality healthcare for granted. Yet, you can successfully navigate increased demands on the healthcare industry and still receive quality care. You merely need to anticipate these problems and act accordingly by seeking alternative solutions.
